I got my feet wet in 84 and then proceeded to the deep end of the pool for 85.
Here was the band i had been waiting for, Dug Sabbath but Ozzy left, dug Zeppelin but Bonham died, got hooked on the Grateful Dead summer of 84 and never looked back.
Take me to the leader of the band!!!
Shake the hand that shook the hand!!!
We can share the Women..
Heck even Keep that Day Job. (Well nevermind)
Trying to check out some of the less obvious shows on the TDIH "this day in history"
Looking back 85 was a year of some of my most memorable shows.
Whatever warts were there ,
I couldn't see them
thru my psychedelic colored glasses.
As far as this show goes I noticed in the reviews that many folks keyed in on the 1st two tunes and given the background it makes sense that all attending would be pretty jacked up. (The band included)
Myself I was planning feverishly for Spring tour juggling College, Work and whatever else was going on at the time.
There was NOT a whole GD Forum at my fingertips in fact a 'hard copy' of Dupree's Diamond News was often the source of set list info coming out of California.
We had a great GD connection at WBAI-FM N.Y.C and they would play shows overnight which I did my best to tape or at minimum stay awake and listen.
Dire Wolf-Funny how this tune seemed to change tempo at times. My favorite versions of this song are from 70 and also 78.
Cassidy-Good separation on the instruments, sound mainly vocals is slightly distant for the entire night?
It seemed to me that 85 was a good year for jams. and Not necessarily always on the obvious jam tunes. And it seemed like once they got the riff they could just ride it right thru the set.
They dilly-dally at the close of Cassidy and go with less jam but more rhythm section into Ramble-on Rose
Double shot of Cowboy tunes.(Pretty much guaranteed at this juncture of GD history.)
Weir seems hoarse, they put a touch of reverb on his Me & My Uncle. ("Bad Ass Bob")
China >Rider as a 1st set closer was actually pretty common during this time period. (Also as 2nd set opener)
The flow underneath the vocals has some pep & kick like a percolating pot of black coffee.
I would have liked to see China>Rider as an encore!
A decent 1st set especially for 1st show of the year.
I am not sure there is much of anything left to say about all that went down during these days, the furthur I get from it-the less details I remember and the stuff i remember i am tired of even bringing up anymore.
Every once in awhile something triggers a long forgotten memory. Anyhow good to listen to the music because in the end that was really what it was all about in the 1st place.
I can easily spend the rest of my life checking out 67-83 but it is good to return to this era when I was dancing bone to bone doing my best to get to as many shows as humanly possible.
"Gonna miss me when I am gone"..
They hit a sweet spot towards the end of rider.

Samson- Is there a more up-tempo GD dance tune?
He's Gone-The interplay at the end of Nothing gonna bring him back between Brent and Jerry is cool-> Weir is lurking with ---Spoonful-> Eyes -> G.D.T.R.F.B I was trying to remember why i didn't remember hearing this tune live very much compared to how it stood out in say tapes from1973-- but that is probably because in the pre-drum slot this song was completely revamped-> Drums-> China Doll yeah one of those tunes that was never overplayed and always seemed xtra crispy-> Baby What You Want Me To Do-Brent was out there, The Pigpen of the 80's-> Back door transition into ---Sugar Magnolia, (Double time)
E: Day Job-This was my generation's Wave That Flag..
(if i had to choose mostly i would rather catch a rocker than a ballad encore)
Til the Night job pays!
Some perspective-In 1985 based on shows I actually attended ------RED ROCKS 85- 3rd Night is a Five. Hersey Park 85 Very High 4 Low 5, Nassau Spring 85 all 3 nights combined for a solid 4. So i put this at a 3 mid to high. Anyway not applying for a rock critic job just trying to keep track of all these shows on a challenging 1 to 5 scale.

walking out to open up with Iko says something about Jerry's state of mind.

Great show

and it's mislabeled. Somebody do another one, please!

This was the first show in '85 and the Dead's first performance since Jerry's arrest for drug possession in January.

The first set of this show is very well played and outshines the sometimes lumbering second set. They start off with Iko Iko which is really well played and jubilant. Nothing spectacular but good pacing and a lot of fun. This is followed by a nice interpretation of C.C. Rider that contains some great vocals from Bobby. A quick Dire Wolf is next followed by and average version of Ramble on Rose. There isn't much excitement in this version. Jerry's vocals are good but there isn't much enthusiasm and the instrumental parts are average at best. Cowboy Bob puts together a Me and My Uncle>Mexicali duo in which the first half is absolutely disastrous. He flubs the lyrics and seems kind of lost throughout. The Mexicali on the other hand is much more competent with some great polka licks. The rare China>Rider set-ender is a nice treat. The jam in the transition is brief but very well played and Jerry seems really into it. His leads in Rider are outstanding and he belts out the Headlight line with gusto. A nice cap to a well played, enthusiastic set.

The second set unfortunately is all over the place. The first half of the set is a winner with a scorching Samson followed by a beautiful version of He's Gone. Again, Jerry seems to be really into it and he screams out the Smile, Smile, Smile line. Instead of fading into a slow soulful jam, the outro is played is a quick tempoed bluesy, grimy jam that leads into Spoonful. Out of the ashes of this emerges a somewhat clunky version of Eyes. Jerry's vocals are pretty rough in this version and the band doesn't sound very tight or in sync. They do step it up a notch however with Goin' Down the Road. This is played with all out abandon and again Jerry is singing with all of his heart. This, along with his blistering leads, make this a great version and one of the highlights of the show. The post Space jam features a ghastly stinker of a China Doll. They seem off from the beginning and it doesn't get much better with brutal vocals and sloppy playing. They recover nicely with Brent's Baby What You Want Me To Do which has a ton of energy along with excellent playing and vocals. A fast paced Sugar Mags end things on a good note. 3.5 stars.

I've been missing this first set. Although, since my tapes are in storage I haven't heard the 2nd set in a while, I used to listen to this fairly regularly, as I did with most of my tapes. So I can say without question this was terrific! Certainly the best of the three shows.
I especially dug the blues standards, like Brent doing Jimmy Reed's "Baby, What You want Me to Do", which reminds me of the summer before, at Ventura where he did "I just want to make love to You". But the rest is excellent also!

I really like the sound from this era. This show has lots of energy. Really diggin on the 'eyes' and the china-rider. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one

DJ....... :)

Is not that bad. I have no problem listening to this show. I think Iko and especially CC Rider are worth a 2nd listen. The end of He's Gone is wild! Love Spoonful and Eyes is well played and is actually a highlight. I don't think its a 5 but I would put it middle of the road for the first show of what turns out to be one of the bands best years in my opinion. I am actually starting a 85 highlight project.I am grabbing Aiko-> CC Rider, He's Gone->Spoonful->Eyes Of The World->Going Don The Road from this show.

What's up with the panning effects on this tape. Hopefully that sounded good in the arena, cause it's giving me a seizure.

Not a great show, but worth a listen for pretty nice versions of Aiko/CC and China/Rider.

Nothing to enjoy in this rather lackluster show. The only highlight for me was Phil's bass during China Cat Sunflower. Poor voices, low energy, and mistakes abound. Still not as bad as 95.

Review has been removed.

Yeah Looks Like Rain was so bad they left it off the sound board...

This show is horrendous. Bobby is having serious vocal problems. It sounds like he has lost his voice. Looks Like Rain is flat out painful to listen to. But good for a laugh. Jerry's playing is pretty standard throughout...not worth a download.

Jerry is firing on all cylinders in his newly smack-free condition. The band is pumped and stumbles a few times, but one can really sense their joy at having the real Jerry back. The He's Gone coda could be addressed to Junkie Jerry. Pitch is a little fast.

Plays a little fast. Will need speed correction.

WE hung out for several hours before this show checking out Jerry world and all its wares, enjoying the beautiful weather and Lake Merritt.

This was the first show after Jerry's bust in Golden Gate park so the crowd was excited to see Jerry in a red t-shirt rather than black and white stripes. Garcia Sang wtih emotion and defiance which the audience feed off from and gave back in spades.

"Well I grabbed a bottle, cracked 'em in the jaw!" The revival of badass Bobby.